By Tanya Williams

Winding through the summer streets of Taos on my way to the town’s newest, and only luxury resort, I realize I have not even attempted to imagine El Monte Sagrado. The property, hailed for its eco-conscious mission and small, individually attentive spa, has published few images. The smart design of its ad campaign provides only glimpses of the place itself, further adding to its intrigue and allure. Perhaps because of this, my instinct tells me to let the mystery of El Monte Sagrado unfold for itself.

As I walk into the round, kiva-style foyer with its sky-lighted ceiling and fiber-optic stars, I am already impressed. From the registration desk, I am escorted to my room, a free-standing casita called Tibet. In addition to eighteen Native American style junior suites, El Monte offers eleven one and two-bedroom casitas, each featuring a private courtyard and backyard with cedar hot tub, each authentically furnished and decorated in themes from locations all over the world.

Tibet, where I am to spend the next three days, is a generous one-bedroom suite. Clouds adorn the entryway, which gives way to a small sitting room – a hand-painted Buddha presiding over the loveseat. The regal bedroom is painted in soft tones, with original artwork, a small gas fireplace, and a hand-painted armoire. A Tibetan prayer is inscribed on the wall above the king-sized bed, which is dressed in white and embroidered with silvery mirrors. The bathroom is no less spectacular, featuring a walk-in closet-sized shower, complete with skylight. A flattened round disk, the showerhead is placed ingeniously under the skylight so that the effect is one of taking a shower in the rain, under the sun.

Daylight diminishing, I head out to explore the grounds. The adobe-style casitas are situated around a green space called the “sacred circle.” A place to ponder, this quiet grassy spot is surrounded by trees and water gardens, called cenotes. Home to fish, plants, and flowers, the ponds also incorporate waterfalls, so the sound of water is present throughout the property. With the Taos Ski Mountain looming in the northeast and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains framing the west, it is difficult not to feel a sense of sacredness here.

Heading toward the main building, I come upon El Monte’s Biolarium. An eco-greenhouse with its own pond and a climate-adjusting glass ceiling, the Biolarium is not only a source for many of Chef Johnny Vinczencz’s inspired creations at the resort’s restaurant, De La Tierra, but also plays a significant role in El Monte’s water recycling system. Steps away, an infinity-shaped plunge pool beckons. Here, as everywhere, the sound of flowing water surrounds. The only thing missing is the smell of chlorine. It’s somewhat conspicuous absence, I later learn, is due to the development of a chlorine alternative called Curoxin, which is also part of El Monte’s water recycling system.

Hungry, I wander to the Biogrande and hit the Anaconda Bar for dinner. The long curving bar lies beneath a giant metallic anaconda sculpture whose silvery-white belly is lit from the inside. I order a mojito, the drunken shrimp margarita, and a roasted beet salad with baby greens. Though far from traditional New Mexican, local ingredients are incorporated into each dish with satisfying results. Served in a margarita glass dusted with chili powder, the shrimp arrive garnished with a mini blue-corn taco overflowing with Dungeness crab. The salad is delicious, with mounds of goat cheese, sweet golden beets, and spicy pecans. I clean my plate, pass on dessert, and walk slowly through the sacred circle back to my casita.

There I find the bed neatly turned down, the curtains drawn, and a small amethyst lying on my pillow. A small leather pouch, imprinted with the El Monte symbol, lies nearby. A card explaining the geologic characteristics and healing properties is on the nightstand. Something about this small gift gives me pause. Perhaps it is the old-world earthiness of the gesture, or the symbolism of the stone, but my heart is filled with such gratitude I sink into the bed, full of awe.

With such lavishness, it is easy to forget that El Monte is indeed, an eco-resort. But even that seems an understatement. El Monte’s very foundation is composed of a recycled material called Gunnash, an eco-friendly substitute for concrete, while solar panels and trees provide energy for the heating and cooling of 60% of the property’s buildings. Attractive, effective, and ecologically responsible seems to be El Monte’s mantra.

The vision of owner and founder Tom Worrell, Jr., El Monte was borne of a desire to educate, as well as indulge. Conceived as a model for sustainable living, El Monte is literally built upon Worrell’s unique water purification system, “The Living Machine.” It works by collecting waste water from toilets, bathrooms, and kitchens in large underground tanks where microbial communities feed off the waste and bio-filters remove unpleasant odors. Next, water progresses through a series of open reactors (like the Biolarium pond), where host organisms clustered around plant roots feed off remaining waste, cleansing it further. The water then passes into a constructed wetland for polishing and to ensure total safety, it is hit with UV rays and disinfected with Curoxin, a natural water biocide – more effective than chlorine and bromine, without the toxic side-effects. And voila, naturally recycled water.

Presently, one-third of water is recycled at El Monte. According to General Manager Michael Chaffin, in three-to-five years, the property will be “off the grid.” Construction is currently underway to build additional underground tanks to handle the remaining two-thirds of the resort’s water, while a wind farm (to be built on a ranch north of Taos), will supply the additional electricity. “The only thing I haven’t figured out,” he says, “is how we’re going to supply gas. If I take gas away from my chef, he’ll kill me!”

Keeping Chef Vinczencz happy is certainly in El Monte’s best interest. One of Florida’s noted chefs, Vinczencz made a name for himself at the first De La Tierra at El Monte’s sister property, The Sundy House, and now splits his time between the two. In Taos, he has shaped a decidedly New Mexican De La Tierra, though his fondness for Florida is evident in the restaurant’s seafood selections and use of citrus fruits. The combination has proved a happy one, and generous portions mean guests often take two boxes home from each meal – one with leftovers, another for dessert.

Vinczencz isn’t the only person racking up frequent flyer miles between the two states. Detlev Gessner, the rejuvenation center partner, is another sunshine state import, dividing his time between Taos and his salon in Coral Gables. Billed a ‘rejuvenation center’ rather than a spa, the four-room facility is designed to provide the utmost in personalized care. Venturing well beyond aesthetic ‘fluff and buff’ style treatments, the menu offers acupuncture, Rapid Eye Technology, Raindrop technique, and energy work as well as facials, wraps, and massage.

The center, like the rest of the property, is a soothing space. A ‘stream’ flows through the floor and a glass roof provides natural light. My day at Detlev began with an hour of Rapid Eye Technology. A true mind-body therapy, RET uses flashing lights and rapid eye movements to access the subconscious mind in order to address and heal past traumas. My therapist, Claudia, began with a few questions and then asked what relationship or concern I would like to focus on. The session began lying on a massage table with my heels propped up in a ‘chi machine’ (which rocks the body side-to-side), RET glasses flashing over my closed eyes, and a taped selection of Louise Hay’s life-affirming quotes delivered via headphones to my ears.

This continued, simultaneously, for ten minutes. The effect was somewhat of a sensory overload. By the time it was over, I could have sworn I was floating above the table. And that was just the beginning. Next, she used a wand for rapid eye movement and verbal prompts and imagery to access emotions and memories in order to release them. I rose feeling lighter, as though I was walking two inches off the floor.

My second treatment, the Life-Reading Massage, is a full-body Swedish massage performed by an intuitive therapist. Lydia, my therapist, had strong hands and a soothing voice. Her intention was as much to relax as to reveal, and her focus is not to tell the future, but to act as a mirror of the client’s self. According to the menu, the potential exists to “come away from this session with a map of how your present circumstances line up in relation to your life’s most joyous path.” Though a bit intimidated by someone seeing so well into me, Lydia’s presence helped me feel comfortable and that, in turn, helped her intuition. Her reading was positive and encouraging, and though sometimes abstract, the images and metaphors she used were appropriate and thought-provoking.

My concluding treatment, somewhat to my relief, was a custom facial, the Q10 Hydrating Facial with Algae Matrix. After so much healing and self-discovery, it was nice to be in the hands of Angelique, my esthetician, who steamed, cleansed, exfoliated, masked, and moisturized my skin to a revitalized glow. Body, mind and spirit renewed, I left Detlev surprisingly refreshed with much food for thought, a rather unusual state at the end of a day of spa treatments.

It is dusk when I head back to my casita. Once again, the lights are low, the bed is turned down, and a new stone is on my pillow. “Adventurine,” the card reads, “is a positive stone, and is said to help improve perception and creativity while dispelling negative energies and amplifying positive ones . . . Simply carrying Adventurine can help restore balance and aid one in becoming more centered.”

The same could be said for a few days at El Monte Sagrado. There is, indeed, a spirit of sacredness here. It is in the water, the land, the cuisine, the people, and in the shadow of the mountains all around. The appropriateness of El Monte’s location in Taos did not escape me, for the town is known for its spiritual and creative energy as well as its high desert climate. Here water is sacred, healers abound, and native peoples have lived in tune with the environment for centuries. El Monte’s presence here is as fitting as its very existence is encouraging to those whose conscience decries indulgence, but whose bodies love luxury. It is a place that appeals to your senses as well as your soul. It is truly unforgettable.

address book

Junior Suites start at $240/night, Casitas at $140/night

Rapid Eye Technology, $185/hour

Life-Reading Massage, $105/hour

Q10 Hydrating Facial with Algae Matrix, $105/hour

(505) 758-3502, www.elmontesagrado.com

November/December 2003

Latest posts by Healing Lifestyles & Spas Team (see all)